Joe Burrow injury dampens late Bengals victory, Eagles beat Chiefs in Super Bowl rematch: Sunday NFL Week 2 review
CNN
By Jamie Barton, CNN
(CNN) — Coming into this season, all the talk around the Cincinnati Bengals was about whether they would squander another season with Joe Burrow.
Even by his own lofty standards, the quarterback had an incredible season last year, leading the league in passing yards, completions and touchdowns.
And yet the Bengals did not even make the playoffs, going 9-8 and missing out on the postseason in the final weekend of the regular season.
But, with the arrival of rookie first-round pick Shemar Stewart at defensive end, the return of Trey Hendrickson from a contract standoff, and perhaps a renewed sense that the team has something to prove, hopes were high that this year’s Bengals defense might go some way to matching the output from the likes of Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase in the offense.
The sense of hope was only furthered by an opening weekend victory over the Cleveland Browns, only the second win Cincinnati has managed in the opening two weeks of each season since 2019.
But that optimism took a significant hit on Sunday when, with 8:36 remaining in the second quarter, Burrow was sacked by Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead.
The resulting reported turf toe injury saw Burrow attempt to limp off the field before requiring assistance from athletic trainers.
Turf toe, which also sidelined San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy in Week 1, is a stretching or tearing of the soft tissues and ligaments in a player’s big toe.
The injury often occurs when players plant their toes and lift their heel, and is common among football players because of the need to push off or make sudden movements. It became more frequent during the 1970s when the sport moved from grass fields to artificial turf – hence the name.
Most turf toe injuries heal relatively quickly with rest, and the need for surgery is rare.
Nonetheless, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Burrow will, in fact, require surgery which will keep him out of action for at least three months.
CNN Sports has reached out to the Bengals for comment.
“I feel sh*tty about it,” said Bengals center Ted Karras. “Casts a pall over the whole day, really.”
It is a huge blow for Cincinnati, one which was only softened by the fact that backup Jack Browning scored a game-winning touchdown with 18 seconds remaining when he leaped into the end zone from one yard.
The Bengals won 31-27 and Browning, despite throwing three interceptions, was the hero.
“You’ve got a lot of confidence in him, and the players do, and they play for him,” said head coach Zac Taylor. “We’ve got trust that he’s going to figure out a way.”
It is familiar territory for Browning, with whom the team went 4-3 and narrowly missed out on the playoffs in 2023 after Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury.
“We’ve been here before with Jake,” Chase told reporters. “We’ve just got to let him be himself at the end of the day. We’ve all got to push him to be better, we’ve got to push us to be better, and just execute.”
Is Browning the best backup quarterback in the NFL? “He’s showing it,” said Chase.
Bengals fans will hope he’s right.
Eagles win feisty Super Bowl rematch
The Kansas City Chiefs’ attempts to avenge their Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles essentially ended with a mic drop.
“You don’t even have a hundred yards,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said in reference to Eagles superstar RB Saquon Barkley’s 88 rushing yards on the night.
“We won the f**king game,” Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts replied before taking a knee to complete the 20-17 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.
It could all have been so different for the Chiefs. Trailing 13-10 with 13:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes found Travis Kelce with a throw about two yards from the end zone.
But the ball deflected off the tight end’s right hand, then his chest, and ended up in the grateful arms of Eagles safety Drew Mukuba.
Five minutes and 15 seconds later, the Eagles tush pushed their way into a Hurts 1-yard rushing TD. Despite a fairly average day for the offense – Hurts ended with 101 passing yards as the Eagles finished with 216 total yards – Philly was out of sight.
“I think that’s the most important thing – finding a way to win,” Hurts told reporters afterwards, “given the competitive nature of the game, and how our games have gone when we’ve played this team.”
The Eagles’ victory meant that, for the first time in his pro career, Mahomes has lost three games in a row.
After a 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on opening weekend, it is also the first time since 2014 that the Chiefs have lost their opening two games.
That was the last time that Kansas City has failed to make the playoffs, and while the star QB is still more than capable of magic moments, he’s going to need more from his teammates than just trash talk if they are going to lift a fourth Super Bowl in the Mahomes era.
Brandon Aubrey rescues Cowboys
It’s not normally a good sign when you need one of the longest field goals in NFL history to force overtime.
But, after a 24-20 loss to the Eagles on opening night, that is the position the Dallas Cowboys found themselves in at the end of Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.
Only two successful field goals in NFL history have been from further out than the 64 yards Brandon Aubrey managed to score from. One of those two was from Aubrey himself last year.
It was only fitting then that, after scoring the Cowboys’ first and last points in regulation, that Aubrey should also score the only points in OT to seal a 40-37 victory.
The kicker certainly played his part – so too, for that matter, did Dak Prescott, who threw 38-of-52 for 361 yards and two touchdowns.
The problems for the Cowboys came on the defensive side of the ball. After the Giants had failed to score a touchdown in their opening weekend defeat to the Washington Commanders, they managed four against Dallas, with Russell Wilson thowing for three scores and 450 yards.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s job looks safe for now, but there is a lot of work to be done.
Full Week 2 Sunday results
Winners in bold (Home vs. away)
Baltimore Ravens 41-17 Cleveland Browns
Cincinnati Bengals 31-27 Jacksonville Jaguars
Dallas Cowboys 40-37 (OT) New York Giants
Detroit Lions 52-21 Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins 27-33 New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints 21-26 San Francisco 49ers
New York Jets 10-30 Buffalo Bills
Pittsburgh Steelers 17-31 Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans 19-33 Los Angeles Rams
Arizona Cardinals 27-22 Carolina Panthers
Indianapolis Colts 29-28 Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs 17-20 Philadelphia Eagles
Minnesota Vikings 6-22 Atlanta Falcons
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